Dreamboat Annie, the Labradoodle, or just Doodle for short, turned 2 today. She celebrated with her big sister Ruby Tuesday, a yellow Lab female, with extra treats and a nice long walk. Living with a Doodle has been a “learning experience.” I’ve been living with Labs for the past 35 years. The Doodle is a cross between a Lab and a Standard Poodle. I can see the Lab traits in her, but the other traits I have to ascribe to the Poodle side; wild exuberance well beyond even a Lab is the primary difference between her and Ruby. She’s also extremely intelligent. This I attribute to the fact she’s the product of two of the brightest working dog breeds around. The only breed brighter then either the Poodle or the Lab is the Border Collie. And I shudder to think what might come with a purposeful interbreeding that includes the Border Collie.

Annie’s been a challenge in a good way. She is energetic and demanding of interaction from her people. Except when she wears herself out playing and interacting with everyone including Ruby. Then they both do some hard core napping on their Orvis beds. They’re well made, tough, and easy to clean.

And another surprising characteristic of living with a Doodle is she loves the two Ginger cats. They come up and rub her all the time, and she nuzzles them. I’ve seen them several times napping right next to both Annie and Ruby, but especially Annie.

And if I had to describe what Annie looks like, I’d have to say she’s my living Muppet, both in looks in personality. I love her curly coat and all the various colors. If she were a male, I’d have named him Jacob because of Jacob’s coat of many colors. I was told Annie was turned down because she wasn’t a pure color. That kind of reason is so wrong on so many levels. What those possible owners have missed by not having Annie, and what I’ve gained.